899 side and down imaging looks awful

Well the saga of the fishfinder continues. After upgrading from a 398 SI to a helix SI to an 899 SI I have seen them all on the screen while in use and on humviewer. Went out today with the 899 and the compact transducer (decided to keep it and upgrade later if needed). Recorded several tracks to review at home. While on the water I was unable to see much of anything even in areas that I new were loaded with wood. Looked at only one side at a time, turned off read outs, and played with sensitivity. Had to turn sensitivity way down to 2 or 3 to be able to see. Down imaging was so fuzzy it wasn't even worth looking at. Figured I would still have some fun looking at the recordings on humviewer so just relied on 2d which worked great and the jigging mode was awesome.

Got home looked at my recordings and as hard as it is to believe it looked worse than the screen did on the water? Since I still have enough time to return this fishfinder I wanted to check for advice. I have read through all the past posts but don't know what I can do to improve this. I do have a full understanding of the controls since I'm a bit of a ravenous reader when excited about something. Had chart speed at 1 or 2 and moving at about the same speed 1or2 mph. 50 foot view to the side in 10 feet of water. Thanks for any advise. Btw the helix side imaging both on the screen and on humviewer was much better than this with the same transducer

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Third picture down on right side are two distinct pilings. Last picture on the right side was where I had just caught 40 fish. Can you tell what I'm doing wrong by these pictures? I noticed my speed was very slow could that be an issue? Also wonder why everything looks so extreme, from washed out to really bright. Also the water looks generally fuzzy.

I have found that some days it just doesn't come together ... Be it water conditions, bottom conditions, the moon and Jupiter not aligned correctly ...who knows ...

Try to find some harder bottom for experimenting ...seems to me I have the most difficulty over her soft bottom trying to get enough of reflection to show any detail ...

I really think the 800kHz of the XHS 9 HDSI 180 T would help your detail greatly ... There's a huge difference in the amount of data being collected in that higher frequency SI beam ...

http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps8630f91a.jpg

Rickie

It looks to me to be reading the smaller transducer signal. You just need to adjust the sensitivity and image on screen to get the picture you want. Look up you tube videos on how to adjust your Humminbird and go out and try again. The lighter and darker areas are hard and soft bottoms. It is reading ok it just needs tweaking.
Trust me when I say the HD transducer MAKES a difference. Get it when you can. I have the 899 and mine works perfect. Yours will look better soon. Good luck.

I think you're right about the slow speed, 3-4 mph works best for me for SI and DI.

Ok guys, thank you. I do plan on buying the transducer outright when I can since I couldn't wait for the exchange process (month and a half wait time). Was wondering if adjusting sensitivity on the water changes the recorded view or is that just a visual preference while in use? This is all mud bottom river and I did have the sensitivity very low. It looked too bright to me even at the factory default, wonder why? The 2d worked great and the jigging mode was perfect. Turning it on and off made a huge difference seeing my jig. Anyone having an issue when switching from side imaging to another screen and then back? Side imaging jumps into contour mode until the new data fills the screen everytime I switch and return. Also does anyone notice a slight reset (pause) in the data on side imaging every once in a while? It leaves a line across the screen each time. Maybe this is just at slower chart speeds.

The HB unit records the raw data ... Changing settings during recording will not affect the recording ... (Except for... changing the Imaging Frequency will change the recording because the unit cannot record both frequencies from the same SI piezo at the same time) ...

The view changing to Contour Mode... I have not heard of in any of the forums ... This must be something software version specific ... Try Restore Defaults and see if that goes away ...

Also ...some software versions show pauses in my SI scroll ... Some do not ... Some versions even show left and right SI scrolling Un-synced ... Gremlins shall be present = "Depth finder commandment #1" ...

Rickie

Thanks Rickie will keep playing with it. I was just concerned it might be a fundamental issue with my specific unit. If is just some adjustments and getting used to it I'm happy with that. Screen size is great, sure bigger would be better but the 800 series screen is a happy medium. Convinced that for people with bad eyes nothing smaller would do other than straight 2d

Humviewer is not very good IME

I don't especially like the humviewer interface, very awkward tools etc. The zoom is not even a zoom half the time and stretches the picture. Is there another viewer that works and is better?

Here is more info ...
Other 3rd Party Software

(I have no experience with any of the others listed there) ...

Rickie

Ok here are some screen shots from today. I had to turn sensitivity all the way down to 2 a few times then 6 never above 8. Also needed to up contrast to 20 a few times to get a reasonable picture. Is this normal? Almost seems like that 855kh issue where it is way too hot, but this is 455? Also looks much better on the screen then it does with the raw data on humviewer, anyone else find that? Here are the pictures tell me if they are reasonable for 455khz.

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First picture is of the bulkhead before the boat ramp. Check out the second to last picture, on the right hand side, second fish down, perfect crappie outline! Was really excited when I saw that. Third picture down looks like a pile of rubble with fish all over it.

Anyhow just wonder if these are any good and what to be expected with the 899 with 455khz.

Looks good to me ...

I see a little bit of water aeration in the right SI ... (Repeating horizontal darker lines) ...

That could be from the boat going too fast for that xducer placement or something on the right side hull creating bubbles that the right SI beam is picking up ...

It's not unusual to change the SI Sensitivity dependent on bottom composition/water depth ...

I keep my SI Enhance mini window up anytime I'm viewing SI so that I can instantly adjust the SI Sensitivity as the screen brightness changes due to bottom composition/water depth ...

Rickie

Thanks Rickie. So in you estimation does shallow water cause that "hotness" in the picture? This is all mud and very little hard bottom. Also, any idea why the data displayed in humviewer is so "milky" and sensitive to direction changes from the boat? Reviewing the info on the computer is crazy, I can see every slight departure from a straight line. Anyhow, it looks really good on the screen just not good at all of humviewer. I will play with the transducer a bit. I did see those lines when underway and actually poked my head over the side to see the turbulence around the transducer.

Oh yeah, not sure if your seeing those lines on the third picture down but they are from two pilings that are from an old dock.

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Here is a snapshot from humviewer. It's the same brush pile that is pictured in the 4th picture above. At first I thought this was just a pile of wood that collected in this spot. Pretty sure it is a pile of Christmas trees purposely put here. Too lined up to be random. Lots of nice crappie on this spot.

Imaging in Humviewer is definitely different than viewing on the unit because Humviewer is processing the raw data where the unit is basically showing a "moving screenshot" of what's on the display ...

I find that viewing both at the same time makes it invaluable to compare the things found in each ...

It's not unusual for certain Enviromental conditions to create brighter returns ... This is where keeping the SI Enhance window up where the SI Sensitivity can be changed easily ...

SI Sensitivity is the most used setting on my 1197 ...

Rickie